Contract Negotiations

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rljude

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I am currently working on a textbook supplement that is almost complete. At the publisher's request, I will be talking with them later in the week about possible future projects. I am currently under a contract that is royalty only.

Based on any of your experience, should I try to negotiate something different, such as a flat-fee or an advance/royalty situation?

This project actually began in 2006, had a delay waiting on the authors of the textbook, has taken over a year to complete, will publish in 2009, so I will not see my first royalty check until 2010. I do not anticipate any future projects to be so riddled with delays, but you never know.

If you think I should also post this question in another section, please let me know.
 

scope

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What are you actually doing? You start by saying that you're working on a text book supplement. You go on to say that the project had a delay waiting on the authors of the textbooks.

In my experience educational publishers most often pay a flat fee to the author of a textbook. However, you can usually negotiate when you receive same (e.g., part up front, part when half done, the balance when complete or printed). Frankly, to get a royalty on a textbook sounds like a far better deal to me. Certainly an educational publisher isn't going to produce a textbook unless they know that they are going to sell many thousands. Whatever you work out be sure you get something guaranteed should the publisher accept your work and subsequently decide not to publish -- which could be for many reasons.
 

rljude

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What are you actually doing? You start by saying that you're working on a text book supplement. You go on to say that the project had a delay waiting on the authors of the textbooks.

In my experience educational publishers most often pay a flat fee to the author of a textbook. However, you can usually negotiate when you receive same (e.g., part up front, part when half done, the balance when complete or printed). Frankly, to get a royalty on a textbook sounds like a far better deal to me. Certainly an educational publisher isn't going to produce a textbook unless they know that they are going to sell many thousands. Whatever you work out be sure you get something guaranteed should the publisher accept your work and subsequently decide not to publish -- which could be for many reasons.

My writing partner and I are the authors of the textbook supplement, there are other writers that have authored the actual textbook. It was their deadline issues that delayed our work as we adapt the supplement to the chapters of the textbook on a chapter by chapter basis. We are currently under a royalty only contract.
 

scope

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Understood. That's what I assumed but wasn't sure.
 
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